Diagnosed with Social anxiety disorder

Also known as social phobia. Prior to me giving birth, I was seeing a psychologist bi weekly to deal with some issues I have had since childhood. At 4 months pregnant, I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. I found my sessions to be helpful, but felt all the symptoms returning when I would leave the psychologist's office. We did various cognitive behavioral exercises which again, I found to be helpful, but this has been a problem for me since childhood. I would say it all began when I joined Kindergarten. I am a first time mom and DD (dear daughter) is the love of my life. She is the reason why I want therapy so she doesn't grow up seeing me this way and hopefully she doesn't suffer from this as well. SO (significant other) and I have a roommate and I just discovered he has a brother who will be needing a place to stay and is arriving sometime this week. Talking to them is extremely difficult and anyone with social anxiety knows how tough it can be. SO (significant other) and myself have had our fair share of problems and all I want is for us to live together as a family with no extra people. Am I wrong for that? A new lease has been signed and I dread going out of my bedroom everyday. I have taken a few different anti anxiety medications in the past and they didn't do anything to help the situation. If anything, they made me feel much worse. I have had a rough time seeking employment due to social anxiety and nerve damage from a car accident years ago. SO (significant other) is very upset when I need cash for anything and doesn't truly see this as a real diagnosis I have tried talking about this before to other people on BC and they told me I must get a job. I agree but this is more severe than they know. I even applied for social security which is a brutal process. I have been denied twice. I am alone all day with just DD (dear daughter) and have no friends in this new town we moved to. Socializing is very difficult for me. I feel so sad at times just trying to figure out what I need to do especially as a mother. My self esteem isn't the greatest either. I miss my family so much and they helped me get through some difficult times in my life. I am just wondering if any moms out there can relate to what I am saying or if there are any suggestions as to how people with my disabilities can earn money? I appreciate any feedback. Please take it easy on me, I am just truly in need of a little support. I am beginning to feel depressed being a mom and not being able to be a great provider for her.

Comments (13)

I have no idea what it's like to have that diagnosis, but I do know what it's like to have it hard being a mom. I have a 8 year old daughter, as well as a 3 month daughter and I'm doing it all by myself. My SO (significant other) left me as soon as I told him I was pregnant and never looked back. We may not share the same issues, but we both habe them lol... Prayer is what gets me through. Things will get better, like you said you have to get better for that little one.

Are there any work from home jobs you could look into, like editing or something? Any crafting skills so you can make things to sell off etsy?

A lot of people don't understand the difficulty of working through mental illness. Would your SO (significant other) go to therapy with you? I think he needs to understand what you're going through and support you. Not having him on your side isn't helping. You can't stay in your room forever, but it's possible that interacting with the roommate may help. Would it be possible to try different medication?

1. Under doctor supervision up your D3 and Magnesium intake
2. Ask the doc about propranolol. It is a performance anxiety drug you can take PRN, so no need to let it build up and you don’t have to take it if you aren’t encountering an event you think you’ll need it for. My previous psychiatrist actually took it when she would speak at conferences to help with jitters. It is actually a blood pressure drug but in people with social anxiety (or, like in my case, just generalized anxiety) it helps to calm your heart rate so it doesn’t race. I took it on my wedding day because I knew how nervous I was going to be standing in front of all of those people and it was seriously a Godsend. And no side effects are common. Sometimes knowing you CAN take something is just as therapeutic as actually taking it. So in my case, I didn’t even have to take it most of the time bc it was nice just knowing I had it. If that makes sense?

GL, I hope you find something that works! It’s a really horrible feeling, I know. Just know you’re not alone.

I have no idea what it's like to have that diagnosis, but I do know what ...

Posted
02/13/2018

I have no idea what it's like to have that diagnosis, but I do know what it's like to have it hard being a mom. I have a 8 year old daughter, as well as a 3 month daughter and I'm doing it all by myself. My SO left me as soon as I told him I was pregnant and never looked back. We may not share the same issues, but we both habe them lol... Prayer is what gets me through. Things will get better, like you said you have to get better for that little one.

Thank you. I am sorry that happens too often to mom's out there. It's great to know you are getting through it and being strong for your kids.

Are there any work from home jobs you could look into, like editing or someth...

Posted
02/13/2018

Are there any work from home jobs you could look into, like editing or something? Any crafting skills so you can make things to sell off etsy?

A lot of people don't understand the difficulty of working through mental illness. Would your SO go to therapy with you? I think he needs to understand what you're going through and support you. Not having him on your side isn't helping. You can't stay in your room forever, but it's possible that interacting with the roommate may help. Would it be possible to try different medication?

SO (significant other) has expressed to me that he isn't interested in going to therapy with me. I have thought about doing some editing online..when we all first moved in together, the roommate was nice to talk to and then my anxiety just got the best of me. I can't really speak to him like I used to. It's almost as if I have gone mute. Strange I know, but I feel he parties a little too much for my taste.

Ok I have 2 recommendations.
1. Under doctor supervision up your D3 and Magn...

Posted
02/13/2018

Ok I have 2 recommendations.

1. Under doctor supervision up your D3 and Magnesium intake
2. Ask the doc about propranolol. It is a performance anxiety drug you can take PRN, so no need to let it build up and you don’t have to take it if you aren’t encountering an event you think you’ll need it for. My previous psychiatrist actually took it when she would speak at conferences to help with jitters. It is actually a blood pressure drug but in people with social anxiety (or, like in my case, just generalized anxiety) it helps to calm your heart rate so it doesn’t race. I took it on my wedding day because I knew how nervous I was going to be standing in front of all of those people and it was seriously a Godsend. And no side effects are common. Sometimes knowing you CAN take something is just as therapeutic as actually taking it. So in my case, I didn’t even have to take it most of the time bc it was nice just knowing I had it. If that makes sense?

GL, I hope you find something that works! It’s a really horrible feeling, I know. Just know you’re not alone.

Thank you. I haven't had good experiences with medications but I am willing to look into other options. It's great that you were able to get something that works for you during a time like that. And knowing you don't need it all the time is awesome. It's good you know what your options are in case you need assistance in remaining calm.

I can relate as I kind of have it, too.. like you since a very young age. It was the worst when I was a teenager but also as an adult I had lots of difficulties and missed opportunities because of this. I went through therapy twice a couple of years ago and it helped me to some degree. I don’t avoid difficult situations anymore but it’s still stressful quite often. I have lots of tension in my body, grinding my teeth at night etc. Whatever. I’ve learnt you kind of have to face the difficult situation and not avoid it to make things better in the long run.

It takes lots of practice. I remember reading books in my early 20ies about how to do small talk because I had no idea how to talk with people. I’m in my late 30ies now and many things are way easier.

Ok I have 2 recommendations.
1. Under doctor supervision up your D3 and Magn...

Posted
02/13/2018

Ok I have 2 recommendations.

1. Under doctor supervision up your D3 and Magnesium intake
2. Ask the doc about propranolol. It is a performance anxiety drug you can take PRN, so no need to let it build up and you don’t have to take it if you aren’t encountering an event you think you’ll need it for. My previous psychiatrist actually took it when she would speak at conferences to help with jitters. It is actually a blood pressure drug but in people with social anxiety (or, like in my case, just generalized anxiety) it helps to calm your heart rate so it doesn’t race. I took it on my wedding day because I knew how nervous I was going to be standing in front of all of those people and it was seriously a Godsend. And no side effects are common. Sometimes knowing you CAN take something is just as therapeutic as actually taking it. So in my case, I didn’t even have to take it most of the time bc it was nice just knowing I had it. If that makes sense?

GL, I hope you find something that works! It’s a really horrible feeling, I know. Just know you’re not alone.

I took propranolol for test anxiety during college. I was failing all the important tests and I would get super anxious before them. But Once I got put on propranolol and took one 40 mg dose prior to the test I started doing really well. I graduated with honors because of this magical drug, and I only took it when I felt anxious for a test.

I can relate as I kind of have it, too.. like you since a very young age. It ...

Posted
02/13/2018

I can relate as I kind of have it, too.. like you since a very young age. It was the worst when I was a teenager but also as an adult I had lots of difficulties and missed opportunities because of this. I went through therapy twice a couple of years ago and it helped me to some degree. I don’t avoid difficult situations anymore but it’s still stressful quite often. I have lots of tension in my body, grinding my teeth at night etc. Whatever. I’ve learnt you kind of have to face the difficult situation and not avoid it to make things better in the long run.

It takes lots of practice. I remember reading books in my early 20ies about how to do small talk because I had no idea how to talk with people. I’m in my late 30ies now and many things are way easier.

I hope you’ll feel better at some point!

Thank you! Hopefully I can get to that level eventually. It truly is difficult.

I took propranolol for test anxiety during college. I was failing all the imp...

Posted
02/13/2018

I took propranolol for test anxiety during college. I was failing all the important tests and I would get super anxious before them. But Once I got put on propranolol and took one 40 mg dose prior to the test I started doing really well. I graduated with honors because of this magical drug, and I only took it when I felt anxious for a test.

OP it might help!

Thanks for the suggestion moms. I'm going to have to research this one.

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